Around Town

Watertown Community Fridge Preparing for Thanksgiving

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Fridge:

The Fridge coordinating team has been planning for the change of seasons and all the Holidays it brings! We are hoping to have a full fridge in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and we appreciate any donations you can offer. Any monetary donations will go towards large fridge shops for Thanksgiving food, produce, and pantry items. You can donate via Venmo (@WatertownCommunityFridge), PayPal, or check. 

As always, we need volunteers to ensure that the fridge is clean and donations follow guidelines twice per day. The Volunteer Sign Up is updated every Sunday with additional slots.

Around Town

Teens Invited to Join March of the Living’s Tour of Israel & Poland, Scholarships Available

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March of the LivingThe March of the Living is recruiting for its 2023 tour of Poland and Israel. The following announcement was provided by New England March of the Living:

The Anti-Defamation League reports a 34 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the last year — including assault, vandalism and harassment. One program designed to educate future community leaders on the history of antisemitism and teach lessons on how to deal with it is March of the Living which since 1988 has brought thousands of high schoolers to Poland and Israel with the overarching theme of “Never again.” The New England Friends of March of the Living is recruiting for the 2023 trip scheduled for April 16 – 30. NEF MOTL has increased scholarship support to $2,000 per Jewish Massachusetts teen who is approved. Participants may also receive additional support from temples and other organizations. The trip brings high school juniors and seniors to Poland to study the roots of antisemitism, where.

Around Town

Watertown BioSafety Committee Shares How it Oversees Life Science Companies

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An illustration of the different BioSafety Level labs. Watertown has more than 60 life science companies, and more on the way, and they must go through the Watertown BioSafety Committee before they can start operating. Last week, the City Council got an update on what the committee has been doing in its first 2.5 years. The BioSafety Committee was formed as part of the Watertown Biotechnology Regulation, which was adopted by the Watertown Board of Health in 2019 and took effect in July 2020. Existing companies had to come before the BioSafety Committee within a year of the regulations taking effect, and new companies had to come before the committee.

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Watertown Community Foundation Awards Health Grants

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) is pleased to announce the grantees of this year’s Healthy Watertown Grants. The Healthy Watertown Grant Program provides financial support to organizations that work to create new or existing programs to keep our community healthy.   As the result of an anonymous gift, WCF is pleased to announce the total amount awarded this year has grown from $10,000 to $15,000. “In the past few years, we have seen an increase in basic needs, especially around food security. This year the trend continues. Of the grants awarded, most are food related.”

Around Town

Watertown Yard Waste Collection May be Delayed

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The Watertown Department of Public Works announced that yard waste collection may be delayed. The DPW sent out the following announcement:

Dear Watertown residents,

Please be patient with yard waste collection for the next few weeks. Republic is working to collect the drastic increase in bags and containers of yard waste and may be delayed a day or two. Please leave your bags and bins out if they are not collected on your normal day. Republic will be by later in the week.

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Watertown Ceramic Studio Holding Holiday Pottery Sale

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Watertown ceramic studio Indigo Fire will host the Fall into Winter Holiday Sale. Indigo Fire Watertown will be hosting a pottery sale on Sunday, Nov. 20th from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at 79R Grove St., Watertown. Forty potters, will be selling lots of pots and more. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

Around Town

Snow Shovelers Celebrated by Recreation Dept., Spots Available for This Winter

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Watertown Recreation DepartmentWatertown students who participated in the 2021-22 senior snow shoveling program were honored by the Recreation Department. The following information came from the Watertown Recreation Department:

On Thursday, Nov. 10, the Department of Recreation and Senior Center hosted our Snow Shoveling Pizza Party at the Senior Center to thank those middle and high school students who participated in our snow shoveling program last year. 

Each participant enjoyed pizza and refreshments while receiving a specially designed water bottle, a $25 target gift card, a warm and cozy recreation stocking hat and community service.  Four of the students who were in attendance, also won a raffle for Bruins tickets for Sunday night’s Bruin’s game. 

We were delighted to have in attendance our special guest Carol Katz, of the Marshall Home Fund. The Marshall Home Fund has made this all possible by providing a grant to support this program. Special thanks to her and the Marshall Home Fund for supporting this great program and Patrick George and the Senior Center Staff for assisting with this program.  Yes, our favorite “Face of the Recreation Department, Ernie Thebado was there and helpful as usual. We will again be offering this Snow Shoveling Program this year and are hopeful more middle school and high school students will participate. This year, thanks to generous support from the Marshall Home Fund, students will have an opportunity to earn a stipend, along with Community Service and a gift by assisting with snow shoveling in their neighborhood.

Around Town

Monthly Meeting of Watertown Citizens Focused on Palestinians in Israel

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice & the Environment:

Watertown Citizens’ November Monthly Meeting is being organized by that Peace and Common Security Working Group. The title of the program is — “Why Supporting Palestinian Rights and Opposing Israeli Apartheid is Not Anti-Semitic”

Wednesday, November 16, from 6:45 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Our guest panelists will be Eve Spangler and Elsa Auerbach, who were among the co-authors of an article entitled “The Safety of Others.” They are Boston-area Jewish women who strongly reject the idea that opposing Israeli government oppression of Palestinians and supporting their rights constitutes anti-Semitism. Elsa Auerbach, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Massachusetts. Eve Spangler is an associate professor of sociology at Boston College.  

You can read the article at https://www.wrmea.org/2022-june/july/the-safety-of-others.html. This is a zoom meeting. The link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83458650306?pwd=b1BKVmRaR09BSHJOeVVWRlBHRHlhQT09